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A look behind the scenes at what Ndamukong Suh is like as a co-worker

DAVIE—Fair or not, a clear image has been established for Ndamukong Suh. He’s been painted as surly, aloof and unfriendly. Those traits are evident at times in his interaction with the media, but like many players, there seems to be a different side to him when the cameras are off.

“Hilarious guy,” defensive end Andre Branch said.

Wait, what?

“For sure,” Branch said. “And you might not meet it. But just take my word for it.

“He don’t want the rest of the world to know. But if he likes you enough to open up to you, then he will. I’m blessed that he does.”

There’s still no place for one-liners on the field, but Branch swears Suh is a comedian on the sideline during games. “Oh, it’s great,” Branch said, though he lives by a code that prohibits sharing any of those jokes. It’s hard to picture Suh cracking people up in meetings or on the sideline, but apparently that’s commonplace.

“I don’t look at him as the Ndamukong Suh that you see,” Branch said. “That don’t have nothing to do with me. Everyone has their own relationships with certain people. Me and Suh’s relationship is awesome. He’s hilarious.”

Suh’s had a good impact on rookie defensive end Charles Harris, too. Although Suh plays defensive tackle, he’s got an overflow of expertise on other positions and is intent on getting Harris up to the necessary level before they line up next to each other this season.

Harris said he’s been going to Suh more than anyone else lately, and Suh has no problem being proactive in that relationship. In the Philadelphia game, Suh changed one of defensive line coach Terrell Williams’ calls at the line of scrimmage—a freedom the staff entrusts to him—and made sure to explain to Harris later why he did it.

“Coach T had made one call, and then Suh made another call on the field, so I was like, ‘Wait, T told me to run this,’ and he was like, ‘No, we’re gonna run this,’” Harris said. “It’s just small things like that. It’s little instances about the game and situational football. That’s what he’s always telling me, that I need to learn situational football.”

Harris said he didn’t know much about Suh’s reputation before coming to the Dolphins—fellow rookie Davon Godchaux was surprised to receive a friendly call from Suh when he got drafted—but he got the impression early on that Suh was a loner. That hasn’t proven to be the case at all.

“When I first got here, guys were talking about how he’s very closed off, he does his own thing, does his own job, handles his business and goes home,” Harris said. “But this year he actually told us that he’s gonna do a better job of opening up and talking to us and teaching us and taking guys under his wing. So far, he’s done a great job.”

Join our reporters for a special evening as they talk NFL with Dolphins Pro Bowl Guard Jermon Bushrod, two-time Super Bowl champion Bob Kuechenberg and former Dolphins Pro Bowl linebacker Kim Bokamper on Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Bokamper’s Fort Lauderdale. The event is free to the first 100 people and will include raffles, light bites and drinks.